Editor's note: Sarah Neumann has been a dermatology physician assistant since 2000 and has a Master's of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies from Midwestern University.

They might not be dressed in tuxes or have a martini in hand, but they're your body's go-to defense in the fight against aging. They team up against disease and diffuse free radicals while combating the aging process.

Their name: Oxidants - antioxidants.

Just like James Bond, they work to save the world and beautiful women from bad guys. Only this time the beautiful woman is you and the free radicals (bad guys) are invading your body. They're working to keep you feeling healthy and looking young.

Here's why I'm their biggest fan:

They fight from the inside out. We can't feel when free radicals injure our cells, but when it happens antioxidants go into defense mode trying to stop the chain reaction of damaged cells. Over time, without a strong defense, this cell breakdown can lead to a number of chronic diseases.

They promote healthy eating. You can do more to protect your skin than applying sunscreen and good skin products. Studies show that eating a diet high in antioxidants can help.

Your diet affects the largest organ in your body, the skin, so eating healthy and looking fabulous go hand in hand. No one expects you to live off broccoli and bell peppers (high in Vitamin C); that's why well-balanced meals with a complex mix of antioxidants are essential.

They're like bodyguards in a bottle. Dull complexions, uneven skin tones and wrinkles can be battled from the outside too. Since your body is already working on your behalf internally, getting an antioxidant-rich serum will complement your skin care regimen. Mix an antioxidant serum with your SPF to add an extra layer of sun protection and naturally brighten your skin.

They discourage bad behavior. Smoking, air pollution, excessive alcohol consumption and even deep-fried foods can promote free radicals within your body. Air pollution has been linked to cataracts, skin cancer and wrinkles, while deep-fried foods and cigarette smoke have been linked to gum disease and heart problems.

They're diverse. These guys get around! These vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are mostly naturally-occurring substances and have a wide range of tricks up their sleeves. There are antioxidants that specifically battle pollutants like nicotine, others that lower the appearance of dry wrinkled skin and some that speed up your body's own antioxidant-making process.

Weird...because wikipedia states "Although initial studies suggested that antioxidant supplements might promote health, later large clinical trials with a limited number of antioxidants detected no benefit and even suggested that excess supplementation with certain putative antioxidants may be harmful". These Naturepath people keep telling us to take this stuff, yet, clinical trials state otherwise. This is shoddy reporting from CNN.

pablo, supplements contain the same antioxidants as natural foods. They are called suplements because they are offered as tablets for those who don't comsume enough naturally (just like vitamins). The bottom line is that natural or not, antioxidants are a new marketing term just like probioptics – a term baned in the European Union because it's meaningless but widelly used in north America to sell yogurt. All it takes is some company telling people that this stuff is good for you and people will buy it without questining. We all know consuming fruit has it's health benefits. However attaching the name "antioxidants" to it promotes the unhealthy consumption of every other product that claims to be high on antioxidents.

Read up on vitamins and how well they actually work. I don't think doctors will tell you NOT to take a vitamin, but when one says it contains 50mg of a vitamin, you're more likely to only absorb 5mg of it. If you ever take a vitamin that has a lot of B12 in it, check your urine after you take the vitamin. It'll be a neon yellow color. That's b/c your body won't absorb all of it, and so B12 just gets passed along into your urine. Vitamins/antioxidants all get absorbed into your body better when it comes in natural, food form. Not in a magic capsule. You said it yourself, they're antioxidant SUPPLEMENTS. They are a supplement to a diet that is already getting antioxidants, not an antioxidant replacement.

I did go to medical school and yes supplementing anti-oxidants has never been shown to be beneficial. Some studies show harm. You need to eat foods high in antioxidants to get the benefit. A multivitamin in the U.S. is also more likely to be harmful to take as a routine supplement as well. If you have a specific deficiency that you can't correct take the vitamins you need. If only good nutrition was as easy as a pill.

Free radicals are just molecules with an unpaired electron. How can a molecule with all paired electrons destroy a molecule with a single unpaired electron? It takes the unpaired electron and becomes a free radical itself. The anti-oxidants will form lower energy and less harmful free radicals, but this does not equate to harmless. If you overload with anti-oxidants, the research and the predicted results are the same. You can actually increase the number of free radicals in your system.

As with everything else, the reality is more complicated than the hype.

BCARM, Wikipedia is one of the most reliable sources of information around because it's viewed by millions around the world. Changing it's contents is not easy but you obviouly haven't tried judging by your statement. If you don't agree with something you can flag it and the Wiki team will investigate it further. Unlike a book that can be biased based on the author's opinion and can't be changed, Wikipeadia gets it's information from millions of contributers around the world and is proof read by coutless other millions. Therefore it contains some of the most reliable and updated information in the planet.

yea seriously I was thinking the same thing while I read the article – what a terrible article, WHAT antioxidents are recommended? WHICH ones are good against nictone? HELLO?! I know what antioxidants ARE but itd be nice to have more details and ummm, maybe some specifics?

Antioxidants get all of the press, but where is the press over advanced glycation end products (AGEs) which are associated with everything from aging to diabetes, inflammatory diseases, and neurodegeneration. Antioxidants? Hold the sugar! It's looking like it is much more toxic than we realized.

Glad others are becoming aware of just how horrible sugar is on the body. It is truly unbelievable how much sugar we are feeding our children. And then wonder why they are always getting sick. I wish they would do a major study on children by comparing their average daily consumption with how many colds and earaches they get every year. That would be a telling study no doubt.

AGEs can be a product of multiple reactions, but oxidation is the most common way they are formed, and antioxidants are important for preventing their formation and effects. antioxidants are not the elixir of immortality, but they are certainly pressworthy

No you can't. Most antioxidants are from fruits and vegetables, legumes, grains. The only "antioxidant" we can get from meat is Selenium (and that's not a true antioxidant).
You've all been brainwashed by the meat and dairy industry. Not to mention, addicted to all the casomorphins found in milk.

You certainly can get antioxidants from meat. Where do you think they go after taken up into the muscle? Granted certain antioxidants are degraded during cooking, their levels are affected by the animal's diet and antioxidants are low in muscle, but to say they are not there (completely missing) is completely misleading.

Wow, you must lead such a busy life, nit-picking the exact words people use and letting them know how misleading it is.

Here's a thought: companies are allowed to put down "0 grams of fat" onto their products as long as there is less than 0.5 grams of it PER SERVING. So a product that is 100% fat can be called fat free (for example, Pam spray. 1 serving of Pam spray = 1/3 of a second. So if you spray 1/3 second of Pam, you are eating less than 0.5 grams of fat. Therefore, the entire thing can be advertised as fat free). Now THAT is way more misleading than saying that meat has no antioxidants.

My point is, YOU have much bigger issues and companies to deal with that are "completely misleading" than little ole me.

multiple types of vitamins, uric acid, L-taurine, and L-carnosine are just a few of the examples of antioxidants in meat. further, L-taurine and L-carnosine are not made by plants, and can only be obtained from eating animal products (or by synthetic supplementation).

of course meat can have other things in it, such as preservatives, that add huge amounts of oxidants to your diet, counteracting the natural antioxidants in them. but these are generally added to meat, not natural. also, eating too much red meat can lead to an excess of iron in your system, which many people have theorized leads to excess oxidant production via the fenton reaction. but meat in moderation is certainly a healthy thing.

The only thing you can't get from meat is vitamin B12... which you can either get from nutritional yeast or mushrooms.
Taurine is a amino acid... which is basically the base structure of a protein. That's not a vitamin or mineral. Neither is carnosine or uric acid.

Do you know what a build up of uric acid is called? GOUT. Gout is also referred as King's disease. Which means rich ppl who ate a lot of meat got this disease.

I'll tell you what meat DOES have though. Lots of cholesterol (70mg in any kind, chicken, fish, beef, etc), saturated fat, acidic amino acids, plus way too much protein for out daily needs. We only need 9% protein per day. A potato has 9% protein.

Also meat's protein (and dairy products) causes metabolic acidosis which leads to the release of calcium in our bodies to try to counteract it. This is why countries with high dairy consumption also have a incidence of hip fractures.

If meat was sooooo important and we "need" it, why is it that you still see old Buddhist vegan monks in Taiwan walking around at the age of 96? Clearly, something is wrong with this meat logic.

And since you seem so smart... do you even know what the scientific term for "protein deficiency" is? It's called kwashiorkor... it ONLY occurs in places where people are STARVING to death. You can be plant strong and never get kwashiokor. It's so rare in a developed country, no one has heard of it.

Uric acid is an antioxidant, btw. And I certainly wouldn't advocate anyone eating lots of meat. I was just replying to statement that you can't get antioxidants, vitamins and minerals from meat and/or animal products. I think there's plenty of evidence to say that statement is false.

If you eat only vegetables, fruits, legumes, and grains... you will be fine. If you eat only meat and fish and dairy, you will most likely drop dead from a heart attack. People don't NEED meat. The amount of fat, cholesterol, and meat protein FAR FAR FAR outweighs the fact that it may contain some slight amount of minerals/vitamins/antioxidants.
Comparing antioxidants in meats with antioxidant in plants is like comparing how much dog is in a chihuahua versus a Great Dane or mastiff.

Antioxidants! Prevention better than cure. I use and recommend the high-end green natural organic unscented beauty products that is filled with antioxidants that this website offers http://www.skinoxygenproducts.com

Actually, the antioxidant as a prevention against free radical theory has been pretty soundly rejected and IN FACT the current science seems to indicate that antioxidants as supplements may increase mortality. Google the Cochrane Review of ANtioxidant Supplements...it is the most comprehensive review to date of the data.

Thank you, yes. Not that this drivel merits comment from thinking-reading persons. CNN, you've got some real doctors and top-notch medical reporters on the payroll: Gupta, Cohen. Why post this trash on their blog, or anywhere near their likenesses? This undercuts everything they stand for.

Oxidants. Antioxidants.... lol, need I say more. a failed attempt to mirror the James Bond signature expression. oxidants in a sense are the very things that antioxidants fight. so it sounds stupid to anyone with a science background..or without one I assume.

Everyone is focusing on one type of food... like blueberries. or potatoes. Take the hint already, good health isn't about eating ONE type of food. Good health is eating the HUGE VARIETY of plants, fruits, legumes, and whole grains. All the enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and nutrients working together, harmoniously, that is the key! There is no "magic food". And the fact that the media is constantly breaking down this vitamin or that vitamin is what causes all people to be confused on what to eat. Did you know that there are over a hundred different versions of beta-carotin? You can't just take the supplement and be done with it. EAT THE PLANTS!!!

Fish contains god-knows-what pollutants. Not to mention, overfishing. Watch "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" someday. We are depleting the ocean of its fish and factory fish farming increases omega-6 fats in fish... and feeds them corn. Normal fish don't eat corn.
And before you get your panties up in a wad about Omega-3 fatty acids. The reason there is a push to "eat more fish" is because the ratio that we eat Omega-6 fatty acids to Omega-3s has gone from 1:1 to like 25:1.
So instead of asking ppl to stop eating burgers (god forbid), health officials ask ppl to eat more Omega-3s. Which is ridiculous.
And you can get Omega-3's in plants.

Your body produces antioxidants intracellularly at levels of µM to mM. People then eat and absorb antioxidants at levels of pM to nM, and expect something to happen.

This would be like having a 1000 foot tall pile of hay for a cow, and then throwing an extra piece of hay on top of it at the end of the day and expecting this to help your cow grow.

In the very few cases where it has been shown that anti-oxidants can improve health, its usually do to either global genetic changes induced by consumption of the food that precondition the body against injury or due to enhanced recycling rate of your body's natural antioxidant system. If you look at n-acetylcysteine (NAC), the antidote for acetaminophen toxicity, the NAC scavenges very little acetaminophen directly. Instead, it serves as a precursor for the production of glutathione, your body's natural antioxidant. The enhanced rate of synthesis of glutathione then detoxifies the drug more quickly and acts to prevent damage.

Eating fruits and vegetables is great and healthy and provides your body with micronutrients that it needs, but modern research suggests that it is highly doubtful that the fountain of youth is in the bottom of a red bell pepper.

Wrong. Ask any real biochemist what plasma levels of which antioxidants there are. pM to nM?? lol.

Your body does not make Vitamin C in the uM to mM but it does absorb and maintain it into the submillimolar (mM) range for example. Other antioxidants are enzymatic in nature and are not absorbed but generated.

what does plasma levels of antioxidants have to do with anything? intracellular levels of oxidative molecules would be the only thing of issue. You can have mM free floating antioxidants and it won't matter if there isn't any oxidative stress there. If you create oxidative stress in a cell, then the antioxidant needs to be in the cell. And tissue concentrations of antioxidants like Vitamin C typically exceed plasma levels by 10 fold anyway. Furthermore, while many injuries occur in the presence of 90% depletion of antioxidants, you still have mM levels cellularly of antioxidant, yet these molecules are incapable of detoxifying injury. So if you deplete antioxidants in a cell to approximately plasma levels, how is the cell supposed to protect itself? Vitamin C enters the cell almost exclusively through active transport by VC tranporters. You're telling me that you can get massive antioxidant depletion, and then that extra couple µmols of antioxidant that is being pulled from the far lower levels in the plasma is going to make a difference? I would argue no. I would also point to about $200B worth of clinical trials that agree.

For the record I am a toxicologist, its like a biochemist, but I actually know what I am talking about.

The problem with this article is that the term "antioxidants" is too broad and often abused. What antioxidants are you referring to? Vitamins, minerals, enzymes, synthetic antioxidants, or phytochemicals (such as flavanoids)? Just because a food or supplement has high antioxidant levels doesn't mean anything – you have to understand the chemistry and biology of those antioxidants before you can know if it will benefit you or not. Unfortunately, you have to ignore marketing and read up on biochemistry to really understand. Something most people are unwilling to do...

This product has been the highest and best antioxident delivery system I ever had over my lifetime – so I want to share with anyone interested. Gives a real boost of lasting energy throught the day – takes a couple weeks to take effect.
http://www.biotecfoods.com/index.htm
Better than eating boxes of vegetables a week.

Depends on the antioxidant and depends on the free radical. In many cases, you just have to have high enough concentrations of the antioxidant to favor the reaction. However, in the case of hydroxyl radicals, for example, antioxidants are less useful – except for the fact that they provide extra fodder for the radical reactions.

Your body is such a wonderful thing. Who would have known that if you're a victim of "legitimate rape" your body will shut off it's reproductive capability so you won't get pregnant. What a wonderful world we live in!

M: Too many free radicals. That's your problem.
James Bond: "Free radicals," sir?
M: Yes. They're toxins that destroy the body and the brain, caused by eating too much red meat and white bread and too many dry martinis!
James Bond: Then I shall cut out the white bread, sir.
M: Oh, you'll do more than THAT, 007. From now on you will suffer a strict regimen of diet and exercise; we shall PURGE those toxins from you!
James Bond: Shrublands?
M: You got it!
...
Miss Moneypenny: Have you got a mission, James?
James Bond: Yes. I am to eliminate all free radicals.
Miss Moneypenny: Ooh. Do be careful.

This represents one of the highest levels of evidence and puts into question the dubious supplementation practices that are based on small, industry-funded, in vitro, or animal studies. Just because something seems to work in small studies doesn't mean that it will in practice.

Sadly, it seems that so many people jump to conclusions. So many comments made without the facts or research to back it up. If you look deep enough, which tends not to be very deep, there are variables with everything in life. I can eat all the fruits and veggies I can possibly scoop up from the grocery store (obviously, not meant literally, though, I am sure many already began processing the statement as such) and still not get much in the way of nutrition or antioxidants. The same goes for the "antioxidants". I can take a whole bottle of multivitamins with minerals and not get much at all in the way of antioxidants. So, we have a general statement made by someone who actually does know what she is talking about but didn't put her words in the perfect array as to please all the naysayers and those who have nothing better to do with their time then to put her down. Supplements, like fruits and vegetables, can be good for you or detrimental to your health. Everything in moderation. I have yet to find anyone in the many countries and islands that I have travelled that is without free radical overload. Much of it is from living in today's world – where pollution attacks us from all angles – what we see, hear, smell, taste and touch – so much of it is so polluted and has been for so long, our bodies and minds are so overwhelmed we can't even have a decent discussion without throwing out more pollution. Sad. Good quality fruits and vegetables – with the least amount of contaminants, often home grown taste different, look different and heal differently than most store bought or genetically modified items of the same category. The same goes for supplementation. If the company is using contaminated products to make the supplements you are not likely to see much in the way of benefits from taking them. I have seen vitamin capsules on abdominal xrays of people who haven't taken their vitamins in a week... no absorption of any nutrients came from that supplement. Yet others, made with high quality ingredients can make a huge difference. I have seen this in my own patients and family members, first hand. You really have to scrutinize the study results so much because the way they word things can be very misleading. There are tests that can be done to measure certain antioxidants in your body that will give a good idea of the quality of the foods and supplements you are taking and whether or not your body is able to absorb them. One such test uses the Raman spectroscopy technology and measure the carotenoids noninvasively. Millions of dollars have gone into studies with this technology and hundreds of thousands of people have been tested and the results are overwhelmingly conclusive. Lester Packer does know what he's talking about. I liked this article and thought she did a nice job bringing to light something that maybe most of us can agree on is a bit controversial and many studies are deficient in their details. Sarah gives us something to think about and a starting point to do our own research with our own patients to see what we findings we can come up with. If she gave all the details and answers that some of you think she should have put into this short article it would be too long to read! Like my message. Give her a break. Have questions for her? Her info is there. Contact her – and if you still don't like what she says and can prove her wrong, then beat her up- as some of you have attempted to do. But give her a chance. I will be looking forward to reading the aricles you write and have published that disprove what she is saying... after you complete your own studies.

Your body is such a wonderful thing. Who would have known that if you're a victim of "legitimate rape" your body will shut off it's reproductive capability so you won't get pregnant.and good ideya.
the pet post

Great James Bond Analogy! Antioxidant is a term that many people know, but a term that many people dont understand the definition of. It nice to learn that antioxidant can be so beneficial to the skin. Natural Standard's an authority on integrative medicine has a great chart that breaks down antioxidant product, and provides the primary data behind their uses as an antioxidant.

Note: These postings are my own and do not necessarily represent Natural Standard’s positions, strategies or opinions

The best way I have found and used for the past 10 years to get 4803 umole TE/g ORAC is by taking res-juventa. @51 I feel like 35 and my dr. gives me a crisp clean bill of health every year, low blood pressure and cholesterol included.

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